China’s new rules on education for people with disabilities still fall short, says NGO

China’s new rules on education for people with disabilities still fall short, says NGO

by Catherine Lai

China has released revised regulations on education for people with disabilities. However, despite positive changes to guaranteeing education for persons with disabilities, they still fall short in critical areas, says Maya Wang, a researcher at New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch.

A government spokesperson said that the aim of the revision was to promote inclusive education, to reconfigure the foundation of special education resources, to improve admissions for those with disabilities so students can receive education according to their conditions, and to strengthen the government’s protection and support for persons with disabilities.

The new rules were passed on January 11 at a State Council meeting and the full version was released on the State Council’s website on Thursday. It is the second amendment to the education for people with disabilities regulations passed in 1994, and will take effect on May 1.